birthday gift
by blackccnary
Summary: after the events of birthmark, beast boy has a little something for a certain birthday girl.


_as always, English is not my main language so I apologize for all my mistakes in advance.__still new to writing them, so I'm sorry if the characterization is awful._

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A knock on her door after having a mini birthday party with the Titans, her friends, her _family_, distracted her from the book she had recently started. Curious about why someone would be knocking on her door after they had just parted ways each to their own room, she stood up from her bed and left the book open in the exact page she was reading. She reached out with her powers to feel who was on the other side, and felt bewildered when she realized it was Beast Boy. It was always easy for her to recognize him. His aura was warm, gentle, soft, with specks of sadness and loneliness, that although they seemed small, they were deep. It always baffled her how, even if he was the epitome of happiness a lot of the time, he carried such a great deal of hurt. She opened the doors and was greeted by a very green, very bashful boy. Quirking an eyebrow, she watched him while he rubbed the back of his neck, while being very entertained with watching his feet.

"Hi?"

Beast Boy lifted his gaze, locking eyes with her. His were wide, with a smudge of uncertainty hidden beneath it. She felt captivated by the green of his eyes. The first time she had seen them up close, she had been so curious about them. Even if she hadn't seen a lot of human eyes in her life, she was, somehow, sure that his were special, uncommon. They were a green so vivid, and as changing as his DNA. On cloudy days, they were a darker green, a green that gave her goosebumps; on sunny days, they were clear and as warm as the sun, making _her_ feel warm all over. But, overall, they were always changing, and the closer you got, the more you could see how many shades of green they held. You could get lost on them, trying to see all the specks of all the shades of green. (She had almost done it, more than once, blushing madly when she'd realized, and exhaling with relief when she'd seen he hadn't noticed).

All his nervousness was starting to make _her_ feel nervous too. Damned empathy. Sometimes, when feelings were too strong, she couldn't help but _feel_ them, as if they were hers, or let them affect her. Somehow, it was always Beast Boy who had that effect on her. Not many could make her empathy go haywire like he did. She always had a firm grip over the limit of her feelings and everyone else's, her walls tall and sturdy enough to never let anyone's feelings cross them.

Her eyebrows furrowed when he _still_ didn't say anything.

"Beast Boy, I was reading. And I'd really like to keep reading, so if you-"

Before she could finish her sentence, he thrust a bag into her hands. Said bag was pretty, black with blue and violet details, containing something that was definitely the form of a rectangle. Curious and confused, she looked into the bag to see the rectangle thing wrapped in paper, with the name of one of her favorites libraries in Jump City written on the front. Surprise invaded her. A pleasant kind of surprise. Her eyes widened and she looked up at the green eyes of the boy in front of her.

"Before all that happened, and when I realized it was your birthday I... I kind of went to that place you always go and bought you something." His eyebrows settled into a frown. A very _cute_ frown. She felt her cheeks blush slightly at her thoughts. "We both know I don't know that much about books, especially the kind you probably like but... uh, I hope you like it and I didn't choose the worst book ever. I just... You deserve to have something nice, you know? And something you like and enjoy. I, uh... I'll go. Happy birthday, Rae."

He smiled softly at her and bolted to his room, which was right beside hers. Still in a confused and surprised daze, the empath close the door to her room and leaned on it. She slowly unwrapped the book, trying to not tear the paper. Her eyes shone when she saw the book in her hands. It was of one of her favorite authors, and not just that. She opened it and read the second page.

It was a first edition. With all its' old book smell, yellowish pages, but well conserved. It looked almost new, although with all that old book _magic_. She smelled the pages, closing her eyes. Beneath the old book smell, lingered the scent that was only Beast Boy's. She may have not had his heightened senses, but she could know that much. She recognized it like it was an old, favorite song. The kind you know every lyric, every part of the melody of, no matter how much time passes. A piece of paper fell from it, and she sat on the floor when she picked it up.

_Hey, Rae._

_I hope you don't get mad at me for telling the guys about your birthday. And I hope you don't get mad at me for finding out. But it's a good day. An awesome day! You were born today, some years ago, and that alone makes it an awesome day. I don't know why you never told us, or why you want the day to end, but I hope we can make it something to look forward, starting today. We are your friends, Rae. And you being born was the best thing ever. Is. Especially for us. I hope we can make it see like that to you too. Also, I bought you this! I saw you with different books from the same writer, so I kind of thought, hey, maybe they're your favorite. Like Stan Lee is my favorite comic book writer ever and I read everything he does. I hope I'm right and you like it. You deserve even a bigger and more awesome gift, but I really really hope you like it anyways. I said hope a lot, didn't I? Sorry, dude._

_Happy birthday, Rae._

_BB._

With a smile gracing her face, Raven touched the book with all the care she could muster.

She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, writing something in response of Beast Boy's note. Closing her eyes, she sent her through the wall to his room, her heart hammering inside her chest.

Giddiness invaded her when she felt Beast Boy's surprise, and then happiness after reading her note, when she let her walls down.

Her carefully built walls. Those she never let come down.


End file.
